The docks at Millhaven and Amherst Island are equipped with an ice defeating bubble system.[5]
As the vessel is constructed entirely of steel, and is not equipped with insulation, winter passages can be very cold.
Ferries to Amherst Island are operated under an agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Transport.[6]
Under that agreement if ferry service to nearby Wolfe Island or the ferry service across the Bay of Quinte at Glenora requires it, the usual Amherst Island ferries can be diverted to serve those higher priority routes.
The MV Quinte Loyalist has filled in on some occasions when the Frontenac was not available.[7][8]
The M/V Frontenac II was built in 1962 by Chantier Maritime De St. Laurent Ltee. of St. Laurent Quebec. The original name of the vessel was Charlevoix before being registered as Frontenac II in 1993 after being purchased by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation. Her official number is 313948 and her port of registry is Kingston, Ontario.[1]
In 2017, the Ontario provincial government ordered a new battery electric powered 68 metres (223 ft) ferry with a capacity of 300 people and 42 vehicles from Damen Group to operate the Amherst Island route.[9] That ferry, the M/V Amherst Islander II, is scheduled to begin operations in April 2022.[10]
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Ian Elliot (2009). "Province to run dock". Kingston Whig Standard. Archived from the original on 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2011-11-04. The Frontenac II, the ferry that serves the island, can be loaded both from the side, or from the bow and stern.
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Marg Werden (2009-02-28). "Wonderland for Owls". The Hamilton Spectator. p. B.8. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved 2011-11-07. We met at the ferry dock in Millhaven early in the morning on a cold and snowy Sunday in mid-January and boarded the Frontenac II for the 15-minute trip to Amherst Island.
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Terrence Patrick Culbert (2004-01-14). "Winter Crossing"(PDF). Amherst Island Beacon. p. 10. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2011-11-07. With ice building up in the North Channel, the 'bubbler system' kept the track open enabling Captain Willard to cross at regular speed.
^"AIMS meeting minutes for January 2005"(PDF). Amherst Island Beacon. February 2005. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2011-11-07. One of my big frustrations is how we're tied to the Wolfe Island and Glenora ferries. We are still party to a Ministry of Transport agreement that if either of those two areas need the Frontenac II, we lose it."
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Terry Culbert (April 2008). "Frontenac II Heads to Hamilton for Drydocking"(PDF). Amherst Island Beacon. p. 13. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2012-04-15. Retrieved 2011-11-07. The Quinte Loyalist will be our link to the mainland for the next six to eight weeks. Meanwhile, the Frontenac II is dry docked in Hamilton undergoing maintenance inspections and any repairs deemed necessary.
